In a world where, even today, the LGBTQ+ community is continuously striving for visibility, it may come as no surprise that the first-ever documentary about homosexuality was not a positive representation.

The radio documentary, titled The Homosexual Condition, aired in 1954, 12 years before the passing of the Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalised same-sex activity for men over the age of 21 in the UK.

As The Guardian reports, the broadcast featured contributions from barrister Lord Hailsham, educationalist John Wolfenden and a representative from the Church of England. During the documentary, they share their positions on same-sex relationships and identities, making a number of incorrect and offensive remarks.

At one point, Lord Hailsham suggests that the gay men he has encountered are “extremely eager, like alcoholics, to spread the disease from which they suffer”. The Church of England representative, meanwhile, uses the term “invert” to describe gay men, an outdated 19th-century term, that originates from the disproven theory of “sexual inversion”. Additionally, Wolfenden proposes a “healthy and normal home life” as “the best sort of prophylactic against all sorts of troubles of this kind”.

The content of the documentary was deeply stigmatising and contained a large number of factual inaccuracies, including advocating for “conversion therapy”, but, unfortunately, it also mirrored mainstream attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people at the time.

Having said that, because the documentary was centred around homosexuality, it was subject to censorship. According to The Guardian, the finished product was “shelved” for three years, and then, in 1957, a highly edited version of it was aired. However, thanks to the work of historian Marcus Collins, the original, unedited script was rediscovered.

After the 1957 broadcast, the documentary was subject to massive debate and public backlash, which led the bosses at the BBC to decide not to make a programme about homosexuality, unless, as Collins told The Guardian, it would be for “special purposes and special occasions”.

Today, the documentary is being revisited as a play titled The BBC’s First Homosexual, by playwright Stephen M. Hornby, which is set to tour England and Wales in February.